Mass timber vibro-acoustics

Mass timber floors are light — which is great for embodied carbon and terrible for low-frequency sound insulation. This project investigates how geometry, rather than added mass, can control the vibro-acoustic behaviour of Cross Laminated Timber floor systems. Full-scale CLT floor prototypes on a glulam frame were designed, fabricated and measured with Laser Doppler Vibrometry, complemented by finite element studies of geometry and joinery.

Collaborators

• N.B. Roozen — KU Leuven
• Andy Piacsek — Central Washington University
• Nathan Brown — UW Department of Architecture

Publications

• Cross laminated timber geometry and joinery implications on low-frequency sound transmission: FEA and Laser Doppler Vibrometry studies
• Minimizing radiated sound power through geometric stiffness in mass timber floor systems
• Assessment of the airborne sound insulation from mobility vibration measurements; a hybrid experimental numerical approach